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SENATE’S STELA HEARING A BLANK SLATE FOR TV PLAYERS — When video industry representatives arrived at the Capitol for the House’s STELA hearing last month, they walked into a room where chairman Greg Walden had basically already announced how he was planning to legislate. That’s very much not the case this morning when the Senate Commerce committee holds its own STELA hearing, meaning witnesses are likely to break out a broad arsenal of video reform proposals they hope might make it on the table.

Case in point is NCTA’s Michael Powell, who’s testifying this morning and is reraising the idea of eliminating the basic-tier buy through — a change originally sought by Walden but kaboshed after aggressive broadcaster pushback. National Association of Broadcasters CEO Gordon Smith, for his part, will go on the offensive as well — STELA may not need to be reauthorized, he’ll say, but if it is, Congress should implement rules that allow consumers to get refunds from pay TV companies when blackouts occur. The fun gets underway at 2:30 this afternoon.

Chairman Jay Rockefeller, for his part, is not afraid of adding video reforms on to the bill. “I have learned from my long tenure on this Committee that we should seize opportunities that present themselves, not take a pass for another day. Dealing with these issues will require the Committee to take a close look at today’s video market, ask tough questions, and ultimately we may have to make hard choices that may upset incumbent interests. For me, the touchstone will always be whether the Committee’s STELA reauthorization legislation advances the public interest. And that is non-negotiable,” he said in a Monday night statement.

— PLUS: WHEELER’S MOVE WEIGHS ON WALDEN EFFORT: The two big disputes in telecom committee chairman Greg Walden’s STELA bill last week revolved around broadcaster sharing agreements and joint retrans negotiations — two of the big issues the FCC moved on yesterday. On blocking joint retrans talks, the agency made largely the same move as Walden was contemplating, and lawmakers now have the option of dropping the issue or going further and codifying in statute the new prohibition.

But on broadcaster sharing agreements, Walden had been seeking to block, at least temporarily, the FCC’s action — and his concerns haven’t waned, it seems. A Walden aide tells MT that Monday’s decision to make joint-sales agreements attributable to media ownership rules is the latest example of FCC policy coming via improper process (since the commission is still working on its 2010 quadrennial review), and the committee will keep trying to whip the FCC into shape.

FEDERAL AGENTS PIERCE TOR — The Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Grossman: “Law-enforcement agencies are increasingly finding ways to unmask users of a popular Web browser designed to hide identities and allow individuals to exist online anonymously. To keep their identities secret, users and administrators of a recently shuttered child-pornography website used a browser called Tor that obscures the source of Web traffic, authorities said in March. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations tracked many of them down anyway, largely because of mistakes that even some of the most sophisticated users eventually make...Some law-enforcement officials and security researchers say the shakiness of that network itself, which relies on volunteers to use their machines to route data, presents opportunities for authorities to trace users. Tor Project tries to fix any technical vulnerabilities, but it said staffers have briefed law enforcement on the software, helping them better understand its limitations.” http://on.wsj.com/1jSoibU

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where we want to hear your thoughts on last night’s How I Met Your Mother finale. We can’t reveal our thoughts here, for fear of getting banished from the Internet — but hit us up at abyers@politico.com and @byersalex, and catch the rest of the team’s contact info after speed read.

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OF BROADCASTERS AND BOLOGNA — Wheeler had a simple answer when Brooks queried him about the string of commission decisions that have broadcasters on the defensive. When asked at the post-meeting news conference if he was “just putting the screws to broadcasters to get them to play ball in the incentive auction?” Wheeler complimented him on the subtlety of the inquiry, before replying: “Bologna. That’s my non-subtle response.”

WHO’S RUNNING THE FCC’S SHOW ON COMCAST-TWC? The FCC chief got tongues wagging after his Monday announcement that he was preparing to pick a team to review the $45 billion Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal. “That’s only prudent management,” he said, telling reporters the review team would be headed by someone from within the commission “who has experience in previous similar activities.” He declined to say whom, leaving the technorati to wonder whom it might be.

The two top names would appear to be Chief of Staff Ruth Milkman and Senior Counselor Philip Verveer. Milkman would be a natural choice having been thorough the latest round of deals at the FCC. When asked if she had gotten a new job, Wheeler quipped: “She’s too valuable. I would never part with her.” He didn’t say it isn’t her, though.

Verveer has antitrust expertise going all the way back to the Ma Bell break up, but he may be too close to Comcast. Verveer, who carries an ambassador title from his time at the State Department, founded Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s communications practice, and the firm advised the nation’s top cable company when it bought NBCUniversal as well as when Comcast sold its wireless assets to Verizon. He wasn’t listed as an attorney on those deals, though the firm is advising Comcast in the current deal.

TECH GROUPS MARK H-1B FILING DAY — Today marks the frantic start of H-1B filings, a time immigration advocates are using to emphasize the need for more high-skilled worker visas. The nation’s immigration services agency reached the cap in less than a week last April, and USCIS expects to do so again this year. Advocates want to boost the caps, which are set at 65,000 with an additional 20,000 for people with a masters degree or higher from a U.S. university. Seven tech groups — including the Technology CEO Council, TechNet, the Consumer Electronics Association and Silicon Valley Leadership Group — are releasing a video this morning to coincide with the application process. The video, a prominent lobbying effort, aims to explain the value of temporary worker visas (Critics, such as labor groups, contend these visas undercut American workers.) Catch the video: http://youtu.be/NS4U_lFhBNA

INDUSTRY TO W.H.: CURRENT DATA POLICIES WORK — A Monday delay in the deadline to file comments for the White House’s big data review notwithstanding, several groups still sent their filings in Monday evening. The sentiment from several industry groups: The U.S. doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel to handle the era of big data. “Policies that seek to curb the use of data or have this as a foreseeable effect could stifle this nascent technological and economic revolution before it can truly take hold,” the Software and Information Industry Association writes. “SIIA therefore urges you to oppose broad policies that will dramatically curb data collection and analysis.” Furthermore, the review should not become a distraction from the government surveillance debate, they argue. “The ongoing revelations concerning the nature and scope of government surveillance programs create the potential for diminished user trust and confidence in Internet services,” the Internet Association’s filing says. “It is critical, therefore, that the Administration and Congress focus on policy solutions that are directly responsive to concerns that have surfaced in light of these revelations.” More, as they come.

TODAY: MASSIE, LEE, OHLHAUSEN TALKS PATENTS — Rep. Thomas Massie speaks at 8:20, and de facto patent office boss Michelle Lee sits with FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen on a 9 a.m. patent reform panel hosted by Bloomberg Government...Cisco’s John Chambers and Silicon Valley investor John Doerr, as well as Microsoft’s Brad Smith, are set for a 12:30 panel on next steps for innovators as part of the annual TechNet day...FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel sits down with 1776’s Evan Burfield for an evening fireside chat at 6:30.

SPEED READ

SCOTUS WARY OF SOFTWARE PATENTS: The high court is trying to find the fine line between an abstract idea and something that’s worthy of a patent, the WSJ reports: http://on.wsj.com/1jSoPus

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